Ori and the Will of the Wisps
| released = February 11, 2020 | genre = Platform-adventure, Metroidvania | modes = Single-player | composer = Gareth Coker }} Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an upcoming platform-adventure Metroidvania video game developed by Moon Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios exclusively for Xbox One and Microsoft Windows 10. It is a sequel to the 2015 title Ori and the Blind Forest and was announced during Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017. The game is planned to be a 4K UHD, Xbox One X Enhanced and Xbox Play Anywhere title. Gameplay Players assume control of Ori, a white guardian spirit. To progress in the game, players are tasked to move between platforms and solve puzzles. Unlike The Blind Forest, Will of the Wisps seems to rely on autosaving rather than manually placed soul links, and the sequential upgrade system of the first title has been abandoned for a shard system more akin to charms in Hollow Knight. The game world unfolds to the player in the fashion of a Metroidvania, with new movement abilities allowing the player to access previously inaccessible areas. Some of the foundational gameplay elements were inspired by the Rayman and Metroid franchises. The game story is centered on a new adventure to discover the world beyond the forest of Nibel, uncover the truths of the lost ones, and unearth Ori's true destiny. Development The game was announced at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 (E3) on 11 June 2017 with a teaser trailer. The trailer depicts new lands, and Ori with a young owl. Gareth Coker, who performed during the E3 unveiling,Track written by Gareth Coker for the E3 2017 reveal can be listened to at either Bandcamp or Soundcloud. was similarly announced to return to compose the score. Moon Studios lead developers Gennadiy Korol and Thomas Mahler commented that the team is "crazy iterative" when developing the game. For example, the E3 2017 teaser trailer went through 2,000 iterations during polishing. As for setting the standard and vision of the game, Mahler said that "Will of the Wisps should be to Blind Forest what Super Mario Bros. 3 was to the original Super Mario Bros.. On 7 August 2017, AM2R developer Milton Guasti was announced to have joined the Ori team as a level designer. Moon Studios released a video in October 2017 that showcased the design program used to develop cinematics of the game. The program reportedly allowed animators to make changes while in progress and thus allows for a more flexible and streamlined process. A second trailer was revealed at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 on June 10 2018, depicting new NPCs, bosses, movement and combat abilities, and revealing a 2019 release date. Another trailer at E3 2019 revealed that the release had been pushed to February 11, 2020. Release Ori and the Will of the Wisps will be released on February 11, 2020. References External links *Official website *Official Xbox website for the game Category:Adventure games Category:Fantasy games Category:Indie video games Category:Microsoft games Category:Orphans in fiction Category:Platform games Category:Single-player video games Category:Unity (game engine) games Category:Video games developed in Austria Category:Video games featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Windows games Category:Xbox One games Category:Metroidvania games Category:Upcoming video games scheduled for 2020 Category:Video game art